The Victors' Daughter
by simmi63
Summary: It has been twenty long years since Katniss and Peeta won their Hunger Games, and now it's their daughter's turn, but with a small baby shaped complication. Set in the event that Catching Fire never happened. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

I am deffinatly not Susane Collins, so me no own the origional charaters.

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Chapter 1: The Reaping

Gaura carefully washed her hair and then dried it. Mechanically she fit it into an elegant clip- her mother would have a fit if she did anything else with it. Ryan had always said that it had been her hair that had led him to her; thinking of him made her smile to herself. She loved him so much that sometimes it hurt, and she wondered if he would ever know what she would give for him. She careful y slid into her skirt and buttoned up the pink shirt, arranging it so that her stomach was as hidden as it could be. Her mother knew about the baby of course, as did Ryan. It had made him dread today even more. He was nineteen, with her just a year his junior, and had been terrified about the Reaping since he'd asked her out.

"Are you ready sweetie?" Her mother's voice came up the stairs. They still lived in the Victor's Village; they had since before Gaura had been born. Her mother and father had to be some of the most famous tributes in Panem's history. A minute later, Gaura came downstairs to see her mother-Katniss- her father-Peeta- and Ryan. T hey all smiled sadly at the sight of her, especially Ryan. He took her into his arms and kissed her lightly, "You'll be fine, don't worry, and then you'll come home to me and we'll raise our son together."

"And how do you know that it's a boy?"

"I just do," he rested a hand on her belly, but stepped away a moment later to let Peeta claim her. Her father opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and just held her close; her mother kissed her forehead and they left for the Reaping ground. If she had been more nervous, she could not recall it now. She bit her lip, and tried to quell the fear in her mind. It was a hundred to one that she be chosen, her name was only in the minimum amount of time it could be, and others had their names in ten times more. _That was my mother once,_ she thought bitterly_. That could have been me so easily. Would I really wish that on someone else? _She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see her father.

"We'll be by the sage, and Ryan will be with us." She nodded. "It'll be just fine, you'll see."

The mayor introduced Effie Trinket, who was still District 12's escort. "Happy Hunger Games," her high heeled shoes stepped onto the podium holding the large glass bowls. "And may the odds be _ever_in your favor!" Effie launched into a prepared and forcedly happy speech about what an honor it was to escort District 12. They all knew that it was a lie; their district hadn't had a decent tribute since her parents. Her hand dipped into the bowl that held the girls names, and Gaura sucked in her breath. "Gaura Mellark," her cheerful voice tore through her, leaving her feeling empty. She slowly approached the podium; each step took more determination than she had previously thought she possessed. "Let's give a round of applause for our newest tribute!" The crowd wavered for a moment, and then applauded quietly.

Gaura glanced at her parents and Ryan. Their faces were beyond horror, or terror, or any other form of fear. They possessed a single minded hatred, hatred directed straight toward the Capital and the Gamemakers. She possessed none of their hatred, no she was just terrified for her baby; not herself, no, but her child. If she died, at least she had lived, loved, smiled, ran, felt sunshine, the wind in her hair. The baby had never done any of those things, and never would. She stepped onto the stage, and forced a smile to her face. The feigned happiness could be seen right through, of that she was sure, for she started crying after a few moments.

Effie threw her half a concerned look then faced forward and then turned to draw the male tribute's name. Her voice quavered as she read off the name on the slip of paper. "Terrance Damon." She announced.

A frightened looking boy came forward and presented himself. He couldn't have been older than fourteen, but he seemed much younger at that moment. He looked over Gaura with pity. The whole of District 12 knew about her of course, and the last thing she wanted right now was pity. It would do her no good, and just made her angry.

The ceremony ended and she and the boy were herded into rooms in city hall to await the Tribute Train. The tears that had started on stage tumbled from her now, staining her shirt and the handkerchief she used to dry her eyes. She sat in a large stuffed chair and waited for the attendants to show people in so that she could say good bye; the room would have been cheery, if not for the Peace Keeper that she knew stood outside the door. Ryan was the first in; he looked much older than nineteen at that moment. He ran to her as soon as he entered and pressed his face into her hair. She heard tears in his voice as he spoke. "I love you," he whispered over and over in a mantra that didn't stop until she took his face in her hands.

"Ryan, listen to me. I will get him out. You have to let go of me, because only one of us can get out of that arena, and _it will be our son._ No matter what I have to do, Ryan, you will have your child," she wiped tears from his eyes.

"What will I do without you? I'm terrible with little kids, you know that." He was trying to be brave for her, but she could still tell how much this hurt him.

"Tell my son that I loved him very much, that's what you'll do. And someday you'll find some other girl that you love and you can give my son a mother and yourself a wife." She threw her arms around him and kissed him. "Now, I want you to go tell my parents to come in. I love you so much, but it can't be me that comes back."

Gaura shoved him out the door,and sank into the chair sobbing. Her mother and father came in. Peeta lifted her up and sat down, letting her lean her head on his chest. Katniss sat beside them and stroked her hair. They didn't say anything, just held her until the attendant made them leave. Her school friends visited, and Terrance's familyas well as her grandmother and her Aunt Prim, who came in and cried with her-they'd now had to walk into this room to say good bye to a family member twice.

At last the train arrived and she and Terrance were escorted onto it, and then District 12 was gone. She knew that her parents were on the train somewhere, but she didn't search them out. They had to come get her and take her to dinner. Every time Effie looked at her, her eyes filled with tears.

"Effie," Gaura growled halfway through dinner, "I'm not on my death bed, stop looking at me like that!"

"Of course dear, I apologize. Well," she hastily changed the subject, "you two will need t chose your mentors." Not much of a choice, just her mother and father. Haymitch had died a few years ago of liver failure-his drinking had finally caught up to him. "Terrance, who would you like?"

The frightened boy looked up. "Umm, Katniss, I guess, unless you wanted her, Gaura."

"No, Dad's fine." She had to plan, and planning was his specialty. He seemed to understand that from the look she gave him. He nodded.

Gaura didn't sleep that night. She lay under the covers remembering everyone she'd left behind, telling each of them good bye.

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Sooo, thanks for reading, hope you liked it, _please _review, it puts me in the mood to update sooner!


	2. Chapter 2

**Still not Suzane Collins, so none of the origional charaters are mine.**

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Chapter 2: The Phoenix 

Gaura stared miserably out of the train's window, Terrance sitting next to her. She hadn't really had the heart talk since he'd sat down, they'd only exchanged hellos. Then, out of nowhere, Terrance asked, "Are you all right? Do you want to talk?"

"I don't know. But thank you for asking me, anyway. I didn't expect you to be . . ." She trailed off, unsure of what to say.

He smirked. "You didn't expect me to be human? Just because I'm a tribute doesn't mean that I don't have emotion."

"That's a nice way of putting it. I've seen too many tributes loose who they were during this nightmare; they forget that everyone wants to go home. There are far too many who turn into monsters in the face of the arena, I don't want to be like them."

"You won't, you've got, er," he glanced at her protruding abdomen, "something to remind you of who you are. I know you, if not in person, by reputation, and you're a good person. You've got an advantage, you know the Capital, the rest of us, we have been thrown into the mix without any warning."

She smiled weakly. "You really think that I have an advantage? No, I have eighteen years of people who hate me there. Sure, some like the mocking jay's daughter, but most of the game makers think me a spoiled little brat who inconvenienced them. My parents were some of the greatest fun they'd had in years, and when they got married and had me, they couldn't take them to the dark side."

"You make it sound like a terrible place," he sounded confused. At school, they always made the Capital sound so beautiful, not like it really was. It was a place of paper faces and masks, no one was who they truly were, and they never seemed to have true emotions. Gaura didn't think that they were really happy, how could you be happy if you'd never been given a chance to be sad?

"It isn't how it sounds at all. It's a sad place that puts on a false face."

"A little like you, honestly. You've put on a brave face, but you've got to be more scared than I am. I just have my mom to loose, you've got your parents, Ryan, and the baby to loose, not to mention your grandmother and you aunt," he reached out and touched her belly.

A door burst open behind them and Effie-followed by her parents- paraded into the room. Terrance withdrew his hand like he'd been burned and Gaura looked up at her mother. Katniss smiled down at her daughter. "We were wondering if you wanted to watch the reapings."

Gaura looked at Terrance, who nodded. Everyone settled on a couch as Effie put on the video. Most of the tributes looked terrified, all except the tributes from Districts One, Four, and Three. They were volunteers, Careers. The girl from District Ten was so young, she took a moment to realize that it was her that they had called, and she walked ever so slowly to the podium. District One's male was built along the lines of a bull, with a neck to match, his eyes were so cold that they terrified her; the female was beautiful but deadly looking. They would be some of her biggest competition in keeping her son alive, along with Four's female, who had a feral look about her face and a mean demeanor. The rest of that day was spent quietly tucked away in a corner reading and whispering to the baby as he kicked.

Gaura curled into a ball as she tried to sleep that night, but she kept seeing herself in the arena, kept picturing Ryan's face as he watched his love turn into a cold blooded killer. She tossed and turned all night, sleeping fitfully, and the moments that she slept were plagued by dreams of the hell ahead. The sun found her awake, panting after a particularly bad dream, with rings under her eyes and her hair a mess. That day passed much the same, she and Terrace talked, watched the reapings again, commenting on the tributes, and every one kept to themselves. "Oh," Katniss called after Gaura on her way to bed, "don't be surprised if they wake you up early, we're arriving tomorrow."

"Thanks." Gaura continued to her room and changed into a light silk night gown. As she was getting into bed, her mother came in. She tucked the blankets around her, and kissed her forehead.

"I haven't tucked you in for so long," Katniss sat on the edge of the bed. "And I thought that you could use some sleeping syrup. If I'm remembering correctly, your stomach feels like it's come to a permanent residence near your ears, and you can hardly breathe. It's impossible to sleep when you feel like that." She helped Gaura to swallow the thick syrup off a spoon. Her eyes were drooping as Katniss kissed her forehead again and left.

The next thing she knew, she was being dragged out of bed by three women who were far too cheerful for the time. Gaura grunted as they helped her to a prep room and got her ready to be prepped. They shaved her, waxed her, put lotion all over her, and plucked her eyebrows, put make up on her face so that she could hardly recognize herself. Then Cinna came in. "Hey kid, let's get you looking even more gorgeous than you are now!"

She twirled in her chair and hugged the man who had given her dresses as a girl, and then helped her design her own clothing line. "Uncle Cinna!"

"It's good to see you Gauriee!" He used a name from her childhood that no one else dared _think_ let alone speak.

He started doing her hair and chatting. "So," she asked as he piled her hair onto her head, "what am I going to be? Fire or a coal miner?"

"Neither, you'll be fabulous, though."He kept working, putting a blindfold over her eyes when she got too pushy. When he was done with her hair and makeup, he had her stand as he put a dress over head.

"Can I look _now?_"

"You may," Cinna removed the blindfold, and Gaura gasped. She looked nothing like herself. The dress was ash grey with an empire waist that almost hid her baby belly; the waist was circled with a ribbon that was glowing orange, and red with tints of blue. That ribbon crossed down the dress, giving the appearance of veins of fire, and her hair was piled on top of her hair flecked with ash, her skin had a grey tinge from the ash on it. There was a silver crown in her hair with a ruby in the center.

She looked unearthly, a creature of fire. "It's perfect!" She cried out, hugging Cinna, who switched off the batteries that lit up her dress. "But what am I?"

"Technically, you're ashes, but I like to think of you as the Phoenix from the ashes."

There was a knock at the door and Portia came in followed by Terrance, who was in grey pants, his chest and hair covered in ash. "It's time," Portia announced.

They walked to the port where the chariots were sitting. She and Terrance stood nervously behind the chariot, looking around. The other tributes were looking around impressivly, showing off, making Gaura feel even smaller. Then the cue to mount to mount the chariots came, and they crowded onto the small vhicle.

"You look nice," Terrance complimented.

"Thanks,  
so do you. I never would have guessed that you had abs like that."

The chariot moved forward, pulling them into a cheering crowd. She smiled and waved to the massed, and got wild applause in return. The ride was fun, she was in her element, in a crowd. She only prayed that they didn't see her problem easily.

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**So, that's that chapter. Sorry it took me so long, I had a paper due. I know it's short, but I just felt like it ended there. I hore you like the dress, I could never have topped Suzane Collins with the fire thing, so, you get ash! I'm a little put out at you guys, 150 hits this month and olny three or four reviews! Please review, it's easy, I pinky promise!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry you guys, I know that I haven't updated in ages. Our computer turned into a very expensive paperweight, and it took a bit to get a new one. **

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Chapter 3: The Golden Girl

Gaura and Terrance rode into the training building wearing fake smiles and nervous laughter. The other Tributes were already out of their chariots, they seemed to be waiting for the final two. "So," drawled the district one boy, "if it isn't the golden girl of district twelve and the Capital!"

Gaura stepped down, trying to carry her womb lightly and failing, "I would hardly call myself a golden girl, they mostly hate me at the Capital, and I'm the shame of my district."

The boy smiled cruelly, "Oh yeah, I heard you got knocked up. Guess it's true, considering the way you're walking. Maybe it's a good thing that no one volunteered to take your place, get rid of tainted blood, you know."

Terrance stepped forward as if to defend her; Gaura put an arm in front of him. "Don't, he's not worth it, if you want to kill him save it for the arena."

District four's female, a thin feral girl of sixteen, growled. "You won't get the chance to even _look_ at the arena preggers; you'll have a knife in your back. The little boy will be with you soon enough."

One's female stood beside her, "This isn't your game, this is ours blink and you're gone."

Gaura bared her teeth in a gesture that was half smile, half threat, and all savage. "You'll remember that when I kill you, and then we'll see whose game it is then."

She and Terrance left. It wasn't until they were half way down the hall that Gaura realized they were being followed. She swiveled, expecting to see one of the careers, but it was the scared looking girl from district ten. The girl stopped dead in her tracks at Gaura's glare. "I'm . . . um. . . Cain."

Terrance held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Terrance, and this is Gaura. Don't worry, she only looks scary."

"Hi," The girl looked at Gaura, who softened at the fear in her eyes.

"Hi. How old are you? You look young."

"I'm twelve, ma'am." Cain looked unsure of whether she should address Gaura as such.

"I'm no ma'am, just call me Gaura, everyone does." Gaura's maternal instincts were kicking into overdrive looking at Cain, she just seemed so helpless.

"Thanks. I'm sorry you had to talk to them," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the other tributes. "They're . . ."

"Monsters." Gaura finished the sentence.

"Yes."

The group continued down the hall until they met a clutch of Avoxs, they drew back to let the Capital's mute slaves pass. Crowded against the wall, Gaura felt a kick from her son; she put her hand on her belly to feel better. Cain noticed and asked, "May I?" Gaura indicated that she could, and the girl pressed a hand against Gaura's belly. Her eyes widened as the baby kicked and moved, and soon Terrance's hand joined hers, and all three of them were in rapture.

"Why didn't anyone volunteer for you? Surly they'd do so for the baby if not for you," Cain raised her eyes to Gaura's face.

"People don't like me in my district, and my baby is just another mouth to feed than no one wants. Why should they get themselves killed to save the victor's daughter? They wouldn't."

Cain's mouth became a small O of shock. "That's awful!"

"And?" It pained Gaura to be this cynical, but it was the only way to accept what she knew to be 100 percent true.

Everyone was silent the rest of the walk to the dining room. Effie, Katniss, and Peeta tried to cheer her up, but to no avail. Gaura kept hearing the other tributes in her mind, the way they'd all hated her, the way they'd all promised her death. It was only when Peeta mentioned that training started the next day that she snapped back into reality. What could she do? She was cumbersome; there was no way she could compete with the others on a physic**a**l level, she had to outwit them, or else poison them in some way. Perhaps she could find an ally that could help her, but who would want to ally with the pregnant tribute who would only be a hindrance? Terrance and Cain were sympathetic, but she didn't know what kind of fighters they were, and she needed protection, not that she couldn't look after herself, it was just that she needed a little help.

Gaura didn't sleep well that night, and when she did, her dreams were riddled with visions of her newly born child being killed a hundred ways by the others while she watched helplessly from the side lines. In the dreams, the baby was rarely the same, sometimes it looked like her, others it looked like Ryan, sometimes her father, and once, it looked like someone she'd met only once, her mother's friend Gale. Gaura woke before sunrise, and she sat up in bed, not wanting to go back to sleep, afraid that she would see her child die again, something she couldn't take again. The thought had plagued her waking hours since she'd found out she was pregnant. Everyone said that pregnancy was a time to be blissfully happy, but it had not been so for Gaura, or she knew, for her mother. Katniss had known that any child of hers would be at a higher risk of being a tribute; it had caused her to have a very hard pregnancy. Gaura, on the other hand was worried that her child wouldn't even make it into the reaping bowl.

These dark thoughts were Gaura's companions through the silent predawn hours before she was summoned for breakfast. She dressed hurriedly, not caring how she looked; at this point she just wanted to get into the arena to get it all over. Her mother waited in the hall. "You look exhausted. Rough night?"

"Yes," Gaura paused, not sure of how to form her haunted thoughts into understandable words.

She didn't have to. Katniss was three steps head of her already, as per usual. "You've been worrying about the baby, and the future. You're afraid that something will happen and neither of you will get out alive."

"How did you know that?"

"Honey, it wasn't that hard. Your maternal instincts make you predictable," Katniss pushed a strand of hair from out of Gaura's face, and kissed her temple.

"Let's hope not."

They entered the dining hall where Peeta, Terrance, and Effie were already seated. Gaura selected seat next to Terrance, who gave her an awkward, one armed hug, while whispering, "Don't worry, it'll all come out right, you'll see."

The talking was all very cordial and polite, which meant that no one's heart was really in it, they were all just trying to get through the morning. Eventually, Gaura and Terrance were escorted to the Training Room. Gaura hesitated at the door, terrified to see what lay beyond. Terrance looked back at her, and gave a smile of encouragement. Gaura reminded herself that nothing could make her situation worse, and walked through the door. The room was divided into stations such as knife throwing, archery, knot tying, disguises, fishing, spear throwing, and other more obscure forms of combat.

Gaura went to the only combat station she had any hope of competing at: knife throwing. She took a midsized knife and stepped up to the line in front of the target. She felt the blade, judged the best way to hold it, lifted it, and threw. The silver blade buried itself in the bull's eye of the target, shocking Gaura to no end. She had never thrown a knife before, the closest thing she had done was throwing stones at Haymitch's mailbox. He had scolded her to no end, which only made her throw more. She would never have believed that she could throw like this. To prove to herself that it was just beginner's luck, Gaura hefted another knife and threw it after the first. It too hit the bull's eye. One after the other Gaura threw ten knives; they all clustered around the target's heart.

At that point, Gaura decided to switch stations so that none of the others picked up on her newly discovered talent. She changed to knot tying, which she was hopeless at. Through the rest of the morning, she sampled each station. Terrance was partial to the sword fighting and wrestling-despite his small size, he was able to defeat District one's male twice.

Gaura's nightmares continued every night of training, until she finally gave up the night before scoring and took more sleeping syrup. The next morning she woke up rested, but she felt as if the syrup had only made her forget her dreams because she felt haunted. She and her father talked about what she should do for the game makers. "You said that you were good at knife throwing, try that."

"But knife throwing alone isn't enough to win me a good score, what else can I do?" She needed a good score to get sponsors. They could save her life if she went into labor in the arena, which was a distinct possibility, she was at eight months.

"Well, to get a good score, the best thing to do is to either intimidate them, or show them that you have the best reason to get out, which you do honey. Just be yourself and show them that you _will_ win."

"Do you know what Terrance is doing?"

The boy in question turned to join their conversation. "I've got no flipping idea what I'm going to do. I can't wrestle a dummy, so that's out. Maybe I could use a sword on a dummy. . ."

He and Gaura debated the pros and cons of various strategies until Effie herded them to the training area where the other tributes waited in a line. It was over two hours until Gaura was called. She entered and walked straight to the throwing knives, having formed a plan while waiting. She collected every knife there and started throwing them at a blank stretch of wall. The hilts were black, which was all the better for Gaura, it made her message all the more visible. When she was done, Gaura backed up to let the Game Makers look at her work:_Doudecim Laurifer _(**A/N:** **Twelve Victorious in Latin**). The game makers stared at her. Gaura smiled at them. She wasn't even supposed to know Latin let alone be able to use it.

She bowed and left the room.


End file.
